Crypto controversy deepens as Farage linked to failed and fraudulent projects
Nigel Farage has made profits by producing Cameo videos that endorsed or supported cryptocurrencies which later decreased in value.
The videos were discovered by the Guardian among a collection of more than 4,000 clips he has created on the Cameo platform, which allows public figures and celebrities to sell personalized recorded messages to the public.
Farage’s use of Cameo has already faced intense scrutiny after it was revealed he recorded videos supporting a rioter, repeating extremist slogans, and endorsing a neo-Nazi event.
The Reform UK leader has produced videos that seem to have been used to generate interest in memecoins, with names like “Stonks Finance,” “NIG Finance,” “Trump Mania,” and “Farage coin.”
Memecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value is largely driven by social media hype and celebrity endorsements. When the hype fades, investments can become worthless. Farage has repeatedly endorsed such cryptocurrencies for as little as £72 from Cameo users who pay him to back their product.
Farage’s embrace of cryptocurrencies is partly ideological. He has said his experience of being “debanked” – when the private bank Coutts, owned by NatWest Group, closed his account – turned him into a crypto advocate because he saw it as “free from authoritarian government.” He has called the cryptocurrency bitcoin “the ultimate freedom, the ultimate liberty.”
But the cryptocurrencies Farage has backed on Cameo are mostly far more obscure than bitcoin. Their supporters appear to have been quick to use Farage’s Cameo videos as effective advertisements for their tokens.
The X account behind the Trump Mania token superimposed Farage’s Cameo clip, which cost £97, in front of an American flag and a cartoon depiction of the US president. The caption said: “#TrumpMania continues with a special vote of confidence from @Nigel_Farage.”
Farage charged £133 for a supportive message where he told the makers of Celsius Network’s CEL token to “fight” for the product, saying “if the technology is good enough, it will survive.”
Celsius Network has since gone bankrupt; its founder and former chief executive, Alex Mashinsky, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for securities fraud and commodities fraud. Prosecutors said he artificially inflated the value of the CEL token.
Farage’s spokesperson said he used the platform “in good faith and without knowledge of the individuals involved beyond what is written for him in the prompt. If individuals or groups subsequently choose to misuse or repurpose a Cameo recording, that is clearly outside Mr. Farage’s knowledge or control.”
Farage’s cryptocurrency-related videos, which he has sold for a combined £1,087, do mention some more mainstream currencies. In one video uploaded in May 2021, he said: “Keep the faith. Hold the line. XRP to the moon.” XRP was one of the assets Donald Trump announced in March he would include in a new US digital asset stockpile. Farage also produced a video saying “I am told you must invest in Dogecoin” – a memecoin favored by Elon Musk.
A month later, Farage urged viewers to sell Dogecoin and instead invest in Gabecoin, which like Dogecoin is based on an image of a dog.
The Guardian analyzed historical price data for the six cryptocurrencies referenced by Farage for which data is available. All of them have lost value since he made a Cameo clip about them.
In a £78 pep talk recorded for the “Farage Crypto Community” in June 2024, Farage seemed philosophical about fluctuations in value. “I know so many of you out there are interested in memecoins. Look, you know, some of these coins do well, some don’t,” he said. “But here’s the point. This is something that matters. You know, Brexit means Brexit, but crypto means freedom from government control. Take it from somebody who was debanked. Crypto’s got a huge future.”
Farage’s backing of cryptocurrencies on Cameo reflects his close ties with the sector. His party, Reform UK, was the first to accept donations in cryptocurrency. Its biggest donor, the tech investor Christopher Harborne, is a major shareholder in the cryptocurrency Tether.
Farage has also said that if he gets into power, he will permit taxes to be paid in crypto, create a sovereign wealth fund holding digital assets, and slash capital gains tax on crypto investments. Earlier this month, he invested £215,000 in Stack BTC, a crypto business chaired by the former Conservative chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
Farage’s crypto endorsements on Cameo echo his willingness to promote other financial products, including the gold trader Direct Bullion, which he has been paid £415,500 to advertise since December 2024.
Asked recently by the Financial Times whether such commercial ventures were appropriate for a would-be prime minister, Farage replied: “Bollocks. Everybody [says]: ‘You can’t have a TV show,’ ‘You can’t do Direct Bullion,’ ‘You can’t do Cameo.’ I can do what I want … I skipped university to work in the commodity markets.”
Head of Investigations
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